Thursday, 21 February 2013

Reichenbach Falls - I'll Never Go Anywhere Without Her Now

EP review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Pretty much everything about this new EP from Reichenbach Falls is autumnal or wintry. They even have "fall" in their name. So it makes sense to read that it was written in Scotland, North America and England, places not known for their tropical climates, before recording began one January in Oxfordshire. The whole process of making the EP took longer though, and was pieced together over 18 months and with the help of many friends and fellow musicians. To put a name on it, you could say we're looking at semi-acoustic alt-rock that sounds very American. This doesn't have a feel of Britishness to it; you picture plaid shirts, beards, acoustic guitars and references to Gram Parsons and The Band. But British it is.

The icy twinkle of 'The Best I Could' opens the EP with the line "And so November came...", it taps into that time of year instantly. There's delicate harmony and slide guitar in the background; drums are played with brushes, not sticks; the atmosphere is understated and introspective. They don't change the formula much for 'Blessed Blush', a tale of heartbreak sung in a world-weary way that you sense is genuine emotion, not put on for the cameras. Given the mention of snow we can only assume this too was written in winter. 'Risky' is another tale of lost love and of fading hope and fading heart, the video shot in the leafless, bleak English winter. The stories are old but they're sung with meaning. Finally 'The Wreckage' is set on "a cold day in December" and again paints a forlorn picture. This EP might not be much use for a kid's party, but the raw emotion and the nature of the songs make it perfectly suited to these long and chilly nights.